Eleanor of Provence

Statue by unknown artist (c. 1250)

Name: Lady Eleanor of Provence

Birth name: Alienòr de Barcelona 

Born: c. 1223, Aix, County of Provence, Holy Roman Empire

Father: Ramon V, Count of Provence

Mother: Lady Beatrice of Savoy

House: Barcelona

Nationality: Provençal

Religion: Catholicism 

Consort of: Henry III

Reign: 14 January 1236 - 16 November 1272 (36 years)

Coronation: 20 January 1236

Predecessor: Isabella of Angoulême

Successor: Eleanor of Castile 

Died: 24-25 June 1291 (aged 68), Amesbury, Wiltshire, Kingdom of England

Cause: *Unknown*

Burial: Amesbury Abbey

Motto: N/A 

Spouse(s):

• King Henry III of England (m. 1236 - 1272) 

Children:

• With King Henry III of England
• King Edward I of England 'Longshanks' (1239 - 1307)
• Margaret, Queen of Scotland (1240 - 1275)
• Beatrice, Duchess of Brittany (1242 - 1275)
• Prince Edmund, Earl of Lancaster (1245 - 1296)
• Princess Katherine (1253 - 1257)  

Appearance:
Eleanor is described as being extremely beautiful. She had dark brown hair and striking eyes.
 
Character:
Throughout her life, she was clever and loved learning. She was said to be a very skilled poet and had an interest in fashion, introducing England to many new trends. 

She was also strong-willed, and was loyal to her husband, as well as a devoted mother and grandmother. Eleanor played an active role in their upbringing and education, and defended them in their time of need. 

Eleanor was also deeply religious and devoted to Christianity, but was also notorious for her antisemitism and hatred of Jewish people, expelling them from her land. 

Outside of her family, she was also quite unpopular, especially with the people of London who would throw stones and rotten food at her. She hated the people of London in return and would heavily fine them in revenge for their dislike towards her.
 
Biography:
Eleanor was born some time around 1223 in Aix, County of Provence, which was then a largely autonomous part of the Holy Roman Empire. She was the fourth of six children born to Ramon V, Count of Provence, and his wife, Lady Beatrice of Savoy. 

Growing up, she received an excellent education and developed a deep love for learning. She became famous throughout Europe for her beauty, and her sisters would also go on to marry powerful monarchs and nobles within the continent. In particular, she was very close with her sister, Margaret, throughout her life. 
 
It was Eleanor's uncle that originally suggested that she marry King Henry III of England, and he wrote letters to persuade him to do so. Her father then took over the negotiations, and in 1235, the two of them were officially betrothed. The two of them married a year later when Eleanor was around 13 years old, and Henry III was 28. Despite the age gap, as well as having never seen him before, and despite the marriage being politically arranged, Eleanor very quickly fell in love with her new husband, and Henry III deeply loved her in return. 
 
Upon their marriage, she became the Queen Consort of England, and her coronation was held a few days after their wedding. While she was still really young, Henry III made sure she was well cared for, and brought her into his devotion to Saint Edward the Confessor, a previous King of England. The two of them would not always agree on political matters, but they remained devoted and loyal to each other. 

The two of them would go on to have five children together, and they enjoyed a close family life, rarely parting from each other. Both Eleanor and Henry were left devastated when their youngest daughter, Princess Katherine, died at a young age, likely as a result of a degenerative disease.
 
In 1253, Eleanor was made the regent ruler of England while her husband was on campaign in Gascony, and was able to gain support for him from France, since one her sisters had married the King of France. 

However, during her time as consort, Eleanor would remain largely unpopular, and was even attacked by the people of London in 1263 during the Second Barons' War against her husband. Eleanor was forced to flee and had to be rescued by the Mayor of London, and sheltered by the Bishop of London. She was blamed for the influence of her Savoy relatives in the English court, and was not trusted as a result of this.
 
Henry III died in 1272, leaving Eleanor a widow, and she now became the Queen Dowager of England. Her eldest son became King Edward I of England, and she decided to stay in England, where she would play a large role in the raising of her grandchildren. However, Eleanor would be left devastated when her grandson, Prince Henry, died while under her care in 1274, closely followed by the deaths of her daughters, Queen Margaret of Scotland, and Princess Beatrice. 

During this time, Eleanor also expelled all of the Jews from her land, with the support of her eldest son, Edward I. She became a lot more antisemitic as the years went on, a trait which she shared with her son, the king. 
 
By 1286, Eleanor had officially retired to Amesbury Priory, and became a nun. Two of her granddaughters had already become nuns there, and she would frequently enjoy visits from Edward I. 

It was here that Eleanor would die in 1291 of unknown causes.
 
Rule:
She was very unpopular with the people of England throughout her reign. She heavily fined the people of London in retribution and was even entrapped by the citizens during the Second Barons War in 1263. Her subjects would throw things at her and she even had to be rescued by the Mayor of London at one point. 

Despite her unpopularity, she would always stand by her husband, and their marriage created alliances throughout Europe. She was a capable regent when her husband was away for military campaigns, handling the dispensation of justice. 

However, her antisemitic views, which she shared with her son, would eventually lead to their banishment from England.

 

Trivia:

• She was the first and only woman to act as Lord Chancellor in England until 2016.
• Although we know where she was originally buried, the location of her grave is currently unknown, and she is the only English Queen to not possess a marked grave. 
• She and her husband named their eldest son, Edward, after Saint Edward the Confessor, a previous king of England.

 

Quotes:

 

N/A

 

 

Sources & Further Reading:

EleanordeProvence.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2021). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EleanordeProvence.jpg 

Eleanor of Provence: A Powerful and Political Queen. (2025). Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/eleanor-of-provence/ 

Eleanor Of Provence | Queen of England (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eleanor-of-Provence

Epistolae | Eleanor of Provence. (n.d.). Epistolae - Columbia University Libraries. https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/woman/76.html